– While the Braves are targeting a bat, GM Frank Wren doesn’t think that the club will be sellers around the trade deadline and although he is thought to be Atlanta’s best trade piece, it appears that pitcher Javier Vazquez might be staying put.
– It appears that Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi is putting the squeeze on teams that want to acquire Roy Halladay. Ricciardi said that his trade deadline for Halladay will be sooner than the July 31 MLB deadline, seeing as how it’s going to take a massive offer for any club to acquire the ace.
– Due to Randy Johnson’s health concerns, it appears that the Giants will probably hang onto starter Jonathan Sanchez, who threw a no hitter in his second to last outing. A couple of weeks ago it seemed like Sanchez’s days in San Fran were surely numbered, but maybe the Big Unit’s injury was a blessing in disguise because Sanchez appears to have fixed a lot of the control issues that has haunted him over his career.
– Larry Beinfest and the Marlins still can’t decide whether or not they’re buyers or sellers. If they’re buyers, they reportedly are interested in a closer, possibly the Pirates’ Matt Capps.
– The Dodgers are in the market for a reliever and names like Francisco Cordero, Matt Capps, George Sherrill and Arthur Rhodes have been linked to the boys in blue.
– Tom Gage of the Detroit News doesn’t think the first-place Tigers will make a major move around the trade deadline.
– Even though the Rangers are currently in contention, the Star-Telegram says that Texas is reluctant to trade away any of its prospects in order to make a move for a pitcher.
